If you happened to miss the broadcast, Steve Stone called Juan Uribe's walk-off homer in the 13th inning of
tonight's game.
During Scott Podsednik's at-bat, here was the banter between Stone and Hawk Harrelson:
Stone:
Well, I think you got the guy who's going to end this game in the
on-deck circle... what a tough night defensively for Uribe, but he can
certainly make up for it.
Hawk: Is that your story?
Stone: Yup, I think that's what's going to happen.
Hawk: And he's sticking to it.
And as Uribe went
¡profundo!:
Hawk: And that ball hit hard! Way back! Sizemore looks up! You can put it on the boaaaaaaaaaaard, YES, STONE PONY!
Stone: [after a beat] Thank you. First time to go, Hawk, that's just the way it is.
Is there any chance that Stone can be the Lou Gehrig to Darrin Jackson's Wally Pipp? Please, Jerry? Pleeeeeease?
(Aside: I like the "Stone Pony" moniker, because it's also the name of
a great venue in Asbury Park, N.J. I saw a
Spiraling/They
Might Be Giants concert there a few years ago during a downpour, and
there were garbage bags stapled to the ceiling trying to cover up a hole. It didn't work, and TMBG ended up making up a great song on the
spot about the leak.)
(Aside No. 2:
They Might Be Giants' new album is really good -- it's actually a double album, and the bonus CD is some of the best material they've put out in 10 years, if not more.)
(Aside No. 3:
¡Profundo! t-shirts are still available.)
*********************
Mike MacDougal has regained his electric stuff, but remembering how long he hid shoulder discomfort tempers my enthusiasm.
He went for an entire month without fessing up, even though he'd lost all command and a few miles per hour off his fastball,
putting up the following line...
8 1/3 IP, 18 H, 11 BB, 6 K, 11.88 ERA, .419/.537/.535
...and in the process, he pretty much messed up whatever order the bullpen could've attained by insisting he could take the ball. As the second-most seasoned reliever in a bullpen full of failing arms, Ozzie Guillen and Don Cooper had no choice but to trust him.
In and of itself, it's not that big of a deal, but MacDougal is the third reliever in two years to try to gut through an injury, only hurting his team in the process.
Dustin Hermanson underestimated his back woes in the offseason after 2005, and then Cliff Politte
couldn't overcome a bad shoulder through more than half of 2006.
It may be a coincidence that
the Damaso Marte incident preceded this string of events, but it does lead me to wonder whether Guillen's reaction to perceived wussiness is pressing injured relievers to prove their manhood until Ozzie officially declares them damaged goods.
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Minor league round-up:
- Richmond 7, Charlotte 2
- Charlie Haeger pitched a decent game -- 6 2/3 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K -- but didn't get much support.
- Edwardo Sierra gave up four runs in a third of an inning.
- The Knights only had four hits, and Adam Ricks drove in both runs.
- Huntsville 9, Birmingham 8
- Wes Whisler gave up seven runs -- five earned -- over four innings, but John Wesley took the loss by allowing two runs in his first inning of work.
- Cole Armstrong went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a pair of RBI.
- Wilmington 6, Winston-Salem 2
- Brian Omogrosso struggled mightily -- eight hits, three walks, five runs and only one strikeout in 3 1/3 innings.
- Matt Zaleski, Israel Chirino, and new addition Jon Link pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
- Former Sox farmhand Daniel Cortes pitched seven scoreless innings for Wilmington, allowing only three hits.
- Lake County 13, Kannapolis 2
- Both Jose Zazueta and John Rocco were rocked for six runs apiece.
- John Shelby Jr. went 2-for-4 with a solo homer.